Economics at university

0

Hi, I’m currently in Y12 and want to do Economics at university before a career in finance. I’m on track to get predicted A*A*A/ 3 A* however only have 2 9s, 3 8s and 5 7s at GCSE, would this make me unable to go to the top universities for economics (LSE, Oxford ect)?

Reply 1

University of Bath

Official Rep

13

Original post by username7053970

Hi, I’m currently in Y12 and want to do Economics at university before a career in finance. I’m on track to get predicted A*A*A/ 3 A* however only have 2 9s, 3 8s and 5 7s at GCSE, would this make me unable to go to the top universities for economics (LSE, Oxford ect)?

Hi there!

You would have to check the specific GCSE grade requirements of some of the courses at the unis you'd like to apply for, however rarely will unis ask that you have more than a 7 for any particular subject at GCSE, and overall your academic profile so far sounds excellent, meaning that there will be plenty of very good unis well within your reach.

What's important now is that you spend a bit of time looking around at some of the unis you're interested in and see what their courses are like - remember that econ courses can vary from uni to uni and so its good to look at several to see which interests you most. Go to a few open days to see a few campuses, talk to current students and lecturers and get a feel for the place, and don't be afraid to explore options you might not have thought of before.

I hope this helps and best of luck with the rest of sixth form 🙂 - don't doubt yourself!

Holly
University of Bath

Reply 2

Zac2007

6

Your grades meet the min grade boundaries for Economics at pretty much all the top Unis but you are going to be competing with applicants with 4 A* and mostly 9s at GCSE. Plus have you done Further Maths? Straight away your chances are slim but because you hit min grades they will consider your application, its not just all about grades, so you do have a chance. How do you get in above others with better grades. 1) Your personal statement has to be exceptional, easier said than done you need to be doing amazing things now to put in it, for example work experience, volunteering, gaining life experiences that will differentiate you. 2) Smash your TMUA test, my son got a 6.8 this year which I'm told is very good but he still got a no from LSE! Use your 5 options strategically, Your grades should get you an offer at any Uni outside the top 15, Non Russel Group Unis are easier to get into and the best non RG are way better than 80% of RG, Bath, Loughborough, Lancaster, Surrey springs to mind your grades should get you a place at any of these, pick your 4th and 5th choice from one of these they are all great Unis and you will very likely get offers, then go aggressive with 1 and 2 Oxbridge LSE Warwick UCL etc, realistically your chances are very slim but you do have a chance so go for it, then pick the Uni that realistically you want to go to and put it as 3rd choice. With hindsight we should have put Durham 3rd as they value a TMUA highly and will consider lower grades if you have a great TMUA but we didn't know this on college deadline day which was 2 months before UCAS for some reason.

Reply 3

User836r

2

Original post by Zac2007

Your grades meet the min grade boundaries for Economics at pretty much all the top Unis but you are going to be competing with applicants with 4 A* and mostly 9s at GCSE. Plus have you done Further Maths? Straight away your chances are slim but because you hit min grades they will consider your application, its not just all about grades, so you do have a chance. How do you get in above others with better grades. 1) Your personal statement has to be exceptional, easier said than done you need to be doing amazing things now to put in it, for example work experience, volunteering, gaining life experiences that will differentiate you. 2) Smash your TMUA test, my son got a 6.8 this year which I'm told is very good but he still got a no from LSE! Use your 5 options strategically, Your grades should get you an offer at any Uni outside the top 15, Non Russel Group Unis are easier to get into and the best non RG are way better than 80% of RG, Bath, Loughborough, Lancaster, Surrey springs to mind your grades should get you a place at any of these, pick your 4th and 5th choice from one of these they are all great Unis and you will very likely get offers, then go aggressive with 1 and 2 Oxbridge LSE Warwick UCL etc, realistically your chances are very slim but you do have a chance so go for it, then pick the Uni that realistically you want to go to and put it as 3rd choice. With hindsight we should have put Durham 3rd as they value a TMUA highly and will consider lower grades if you have a great TMUA but we didn't know this on college deadline day which was 2 months before UCAS for some reason.

Thanks for the reply, I didn't do further maths no, but I got a 9 in Maths at GCSE. I've got good work experience in accounting lined up and might try and get one at a bank over the summer. I'll also try and do more super curriculars to put in my personal statement. What were your son's predicted grades and where did he get in?

Reply 4

Zac2007

6

Original post by User836r

Thanks for the reply, I didn't do further maths no, but I got a 9 in Maths at GCSE. I've got good work experience in accounting lined up and might try and get one at a bank over the summer. I'll also try and do more super curriculars to put in my personal statement. What were your son's predicted grades and where did he get in?

A*AA Maths, Eco, Physics, EPQ expecting A, TMUA 6.8, GCSEs not amazing 887766665. He got offers from choices 3,4 and 5 Loughborough, Lancaster and Surrey within a few days of submitting! Lancaster even offered reduced grade boundaries. 1st choice LSE, he got a no a few weeks ago, 2nd choice UCL still waiting but expecting a no this late into process. With hindsight, we'd of put Durham at 3, Loughborough 4 and dropped Lancaster, nothing wrong with Lancaster but it's just very similar too the other 2 he got offers from and a long way away from us. He did his TMUA in Jan, after he's had to submit his 5 choices, if we'd known he was going to do this well, we'd of put Durham because they reduce the required A level grades if you get a high TMUA, if u can, do your TMUA in October, don't leave to Jan like we did, then you'll get your score before deadline. As it stands we are expecting him to go to Loughborough, which as parents we are very happy about, I was quite happy that he got a no from LSE, its obviously an amazing Uni but there's so many stories out there of LSE students burning out with the high demands put on them, Loughborough hasn't got the academic kudos of other top Unis but it's top 10 every year and for me has the perfect work / life balance and I think he'll be happy there but he really wanted a top London Uni so if he does get a UCL offer he'd take that.

(edited 1 month ago)

Economics at university

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